Until the End
by Gozilla
Summary: (Sequel to New Life) After Al was restored, the Elric brothers' life finally returned to normal. But their peaceful life was short-lived as it was being violently torn away by some unexpected visitors. Could the brothers survive with both the sins and the
1. The Sins

**Until the End**

By Gozilla

Disclaimer: I don't own anything and I don't have anything. So don't sue me!

Please excuse my poor English. -

Reviews are most welcomed!

Enjoy!

A/N: This is the sequel of my first Fullmetal Alchemist fanfic "New Life". Please feel free to review and comment!

Summary: This is an A/U fic. After Al was restored, the Elric brothers' life finally returned to normal. But their peaceful life was short-lived as it was being violently torn away by some unexpected visitors. Could the brothers survive with both the sins and the military chasing after them?

"Ed! Where are you?" Winry stood beside a large tree and shouted across the field, anger written all over her face. "I told you to rest in the house! You are not well enough to go around yet! Ed! Where are you?"

She scanned the field and saw no sigh of the young state alchemist. Mumbling angrily underneath her breath, she proceeded to walk towards the town, searching for Edward.

A minute after Winry left the spot, a figure sneaked out from behind the big tree. Edward leaned against the tree trunk and sighed in defeat, "Can't she just leave me alone?" he murmured as be wiped away the sweat on his forehead, "I will go insane if I stay in bed for a minute longer."

It has been two days after Alphonse, Edward's younger brother, left Rizenbul Village after his short stay visiting Edward. It was the first time Alphonse returned to Rizenbul Village after Edward installed his new automail left arm and right leg, which were lost as the cost of equivalent trade for restoring Alphonse's human body.

The installation of the new automail limbs was a torture to Edward, especially with part of his internal organs missing during the human transmutation. However, as he did when he was twelve, he endured the whole process without any compliant and regained his mobility. Since then he hardly stay inside Rockbell's house.

"I will go insane if I have to take any of Winry's lectures." Edward murmured as he started walking towards the opposite direction from Winry. He took only a few steps before a severe dizziness attacked him. He steadies himself against a tree as he struggled to breathe. A familiar taste of blood overwhelmed his mouth and nose.

Edward immediately knew that it was the side-effect of the missing internal organ. He had been running away from Winry a few minutes ago and he had over-exerted his battered body. He stayed in the position for a few minutes before getting up carefully.

"Now I know exactly how sensei felt..." Edward sighed as he slowly walked away. Without any specific destination in mind, he mindlessly wandered towards his old home.

The burnt structure of the Elric's house was still standing on the site. The sight still gave Edward a heartache. He stood there quietly with flashes of his childhood life came across his mind. Suddenly, the memory of the disfigured body of his mother flashed through his mind and he inhaled sharply in shock. After overcoming the initial shock of the memory, regrets filled his heart and Edward recomposed himself, "I am sorry, mother. I am sorry for not able to restore you properly. But at least I have rectified part of my sin by restoring Al's body..."

Edward's thought was interrupted as a familiar coldness attacked his mind. He felt as if his body was frozen as he heard a sweet but deadly voice came from behind.

"Hello, chibi Fullmetal." came a female voice.

"Lust..." Edward turned slowly to face the deceitfully beautiful woman standing behind him.

"It is so nice to see you again, chibi Fullmetal." Lust said in her normal seductive voice, "We have been looking for you over a year. We had never imagined you would dare to come back to your homeland."

"The most dangerous place is often the safest place." Edward said in a leisure tone while his mind was frantically searching for a way out.

"We had enough of these meaningless talks." Lust said, pointing her fingers towards the state alchemist, "Now, be a good boy and give me the philosopher's stone."

"Do you think I will bring along such precious thing along?" Edward said in a teasing tone, eyes scanning the area for any sign of the other sins.

"Then tell me where do you keep the philosopher's stone." Lust said, "I will make your death quick and painless."

"Kill me and you will never know where the stone is." Edward briefly scanned the area and decided that there was no other sins around.

"Then I will kill you first and ask your little brother for the location of the stone!" Lust shot her sharp nails towards Edward with lightning speed. Expected the attack, Edward avoided the deadly nails with a scratch on his face. One of Lust's nail hit the side of Edward's left arm and slid off the smooth metal.

"Looks like chibi Fullmetal is fulfilling his name and getting more metal on his body." Lust teased as she attacked again with her deadly nails at lightning speed.

Edward dodged but he was not quick enough. One of Lust's nails penetrated Edward's left shoulder (unprotected by the automail connector) and pinned him to the ground. He couldn't stop but let out a cry in pain at the impact.

Lust leaned closed and hovered above Edward, "So, chibi, are you ready to tell me where the stone is?"

Edward murmured something under his nose which Lust couldn't hear clearly. "What did you say?" Lust leaned closer to the wounded alchemist.

"I said you are dead." Edward said with a cunning smile and quickly clasped his hands before putting them on the ground. Flashes of strong blue light shone across the area as two gigantic hands emerged from the ground, catching Lust in iron grip. Lust retrieved her nails as a mass number of arrows shot from the ground and penetrated her body. She fell limp as every inch of her body was covered by arrows.

'I didn't expect such powerful reaction.' Edward thought as he looked at his 'handiwork' and then his automail hands in surprise. It was the first time he used his alchemist power and it was far stronger than he expected. 'I guess it is either because I have absorbed some of the power from the philosopher's stone or the automail limbs have amplified the power.'

Knowing that Lust would revive soon, Edward decided to think about this issue later and ran towards Rockbell's house. A wave of dizziness hit him hard and he almost fell to the ground. He could feel that blood was flooding in his throat and blackness threatened to overwhelm him.

'I can't faint, not now.' Edward thought, using his will power to block out the dizziness. 'I have to find Al and warn him before the sins get him.' He struggled with all his might and started running towards the Rockbell's.

-At Rockbell's house-

Edward basically crashed through the front door of the Rockbell's. The door hanged dangerously by the remains of the doorframe. But Edward could not care less about this as he rushed to gather a few necessities to his travel bag and grabbed his red coat from the wardrobe.

Winry, who was working in the workshop, heard the noise and went down to Edward's room. She was surprised to find Edward's room in a total mess and was shocked to see Edward bleeding shoulder.

"Ed! What are you doing?" Winry asked in concern. She had never seen her friend in such frantic status. "Your shoulder is bleeding! I have to dress the wound first!"

"Winry, there is no time. The sins are here." Edward said with difficulties. He was panting heavily due to the running. "They are after the philosopher's stone. I have to find Al and warn him about this. Where did he say he was going?"

"I... I remember he said he was going to Paromo, a remote town in the eastern border." Winry said in shaking voice, "I thought things are over now. E... Ed... Are you and Al going to be alright?"

Edward turned to look into Winry's eyes, they were filled with deep worries. He smiled in assurance, "Don't worry, Winry. We will be fine."

"Promise me that both of you will return safely."

"I promise."

With that, Edward put on his red coat and took his travel bag before rushing through the door. He ran straight to the train station of the town.

Winry stood at the front gate watching Edward's figure disappeared over the horizon. She did not know how long had she been standing there. She was being caught totally off-guarded as a voice came from behind.

"Where is he going?"

Winry turned and saw the familiar small hunching figure of her grandma standing in a corner of the house. She sighed in relief and said, "He said that the sins are here and they are after the philosopher's stone. He is going to find his brother and warn him. I hope they will return safely."

"Is that so? So, where is the little brother?"

"Grandma?" Winry said as she turned to her grandma, "What is going on? You sound kind of weird..." she couldn't finish the sentence as she found no one standing behind her.

"Winry!" came a familiar voice from inside the house, "Winry! Come and help your old grandma to get this bag upstairs!"

Winry turned to see her grandma standing in the middle of the stairs, struggling to pull a bag of automail materials upstairs.

"How come..." Winry was totally confused. How could her grandma talking to her at the front gate in a moment and then be in the house pulling a heavy bag in the middle of the stairs.

"Winry!" grandma shouted, "Don't just stand there! Help me! The bag is falling!"

"Yes, grandma!" Winry ran to help her grandma, forgetting the confusion in her mind.

-At the train station-

Edward felt as if his lungs and heart were going to explode after running to the train station from the Rockbell's. Dark spots danced in front of his eyes but his strong will prevented himself from collapsing.

There was only one train in the station and its destination was the Central in the west, exactly the opposite direction from Paromo, which was located east of Rizenbul. According to the train schedule, the next train to the Paromo would depart from the Rizenbul station in almost a month's time.

'I cannot wait for the train to Paromo.' Edward thought as he struggled to breath, 'Lust has probably revived and she may be here at any moment. I must take this train and leave Rizenbul first. There should be trains to go to Paromo from the Central.'

Suddenly, the train let out a roar of steam and the sound of a whistle announced that the train was departing. Edward rushed to buy a ticket and jumped on to last compartment of the moving train.

"Edward! Wait for me!" came a familiar voice.

Edward turned in surprise and saw Winry running after the train.

"Winry!" Edward shouted over the noise of the train, "What are you doing?" He leaned against the handrails and extended his arm, trying to catch Winry's out-stretching hand.

"I am going with you, Edward!" Winry shouted. She ran quickly trying to catch up with the moving train, "I will help you to find Alphonse!"

Edward was about to catch Winry's hand when he noticed something abnormal. 'Winry never address me and Al with our full name...' he thought as he narrowed his eyes and retrieved his hand, "Who are you?"

Winry looked at Edward in surprise, "What are you talking about, Edward? I am Winry, of course."

"You are not Winry!" Edward shouted in anger, "Stop pretending, Envy!"

The surprise look was replaced by an evil smirk on Winry's face. With flashes of bright yellow light, Envy changed back to his real face.

"You can't get away from us, chibi." Envy said as he quickened his pace and jumped to catch the handrail of the fast moving train.

"No, you are not coming!" Edward clapped his automail hands and, with a flash of blue lights, the shield over his automail forearm turned into a sharp sword. With a powerful swing, Edward cut the handrails Envy was holding from the rest of the train.

Losing his balance, Envy fell on the platform ungracefully and watched the train left the station with increasing speed, together with his prey. "You will pay for this, chibi." Envy said with poisonous tone, "I swear I will make you pay a hundred times for this before I tear off your head with my bare hands."

End of Chapter 1

Hope you enjoyed the chapter!

Please feel free to review and comment!


	2. The Military

**Until the End**

By Gozilla

* * *

A/N: Thanks a lot to those of you who read and reviewed the story!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything and I don't have anything. So don't sue me!

Please excuse my poor English. -

Reviews are most welcomed!

Enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 2: The Military

* * *

-On the train-

Edward ignored the curious glares thrown at him by other passages as he limped along the aisle of the train. He was glad to find that his compartment was empty. Quickly, he closed the door behind him and slid the curtains so that people could not see him from the outside. Once secured, he collapsed onto the seat in exhaustion.

After catching his breath, he took off his coat and inspected the wound on his shoulder. Lust's nail punctured right through his left shoulder and created a bleeding hole. It was painful but he knew it would heal soon as it was just a flesh wound. The bleeding had slowed and the blood stain on the coat was not obvious as the coat was red itself.

Edward took some bandages and dressed the wound. He then put on his coat to cover the bandages before falling on the seat. He fell asleep almost immediately as he was completely exhausted. More importantly, he knew he need to regain his strength again as the road ahead would not be easy.

* * *

-Three days later-

The train finally arrived at the Central station. Edward got off the train and immediately ran to check on the train schedule to Paromo. He was frustrated to find that the next train to Paromo would depart three days later.

"Why the hell do you have to go to such stupid remote town?" Edward murmured angrily. He knew that his brother went to help the people in the remote areas which the government chose to ignore due to the little influence the people there had. He knew Al was doing what a "people's alchemist" should do. But under urgent situation like this, Edward couldn't help but to let out his anger in these harmless cursing.

Edward now faced another problem: where should he stay in the coming three days?

Edward did not want to go back to the military as people might question about his new automail limbs and, most importantly, his brother, Al. Edward could not risk letting anyone know that he had successfully transmuted Al's body. Otherwise, the military might do something horrible to his brother in order to investigate the secret of human transmutation. Edward simply did not trust anyone in the military.

On the other hand, he could not just wonder around the city as his name, the Fullmetal Alchemist, was famous in the city and people would probably recognise him. In addition, the sins would have known that the destination of the train he took and followed him to the Central. He could not risk being caught, and probably killed, by the sins while waiting for the train.

After considering all the options available, Edward decided to stay somewhere near the outskirt of the city for the next three days before taking the train to Paromo. He went to the ticket box and bought a ticket for the train to Paromo three days later and another ticket for the train to a nearby town which would depart in 10 minutes.

Edward quickly boarded the train to the nearby town and hid himself in a quiet corner. He let out a sigh of relief when the train started moving.

Unbeknown to Edward, someone in a dark corner of the train station had been watching his every move. The person went to the ticket box and asked for the destination of the tickets Edward bought. The person then disappeared in the crowd as the train slowly departed.

* * *

-Next morning, in a nearby town-

Edward slowly opened his eyes at the bright sunlight shining through the thin curtain over the window of the room. He arrived in the town last in the evening yesterday and checked in to a small inn for a room for two nights. He was so exhausted that he skipped dinner and went straight to bed.

But his sleep was haunted with nightmares of his brother being turned to a philosopher's stone by the sins or his brother being tied to a surgery bed in the 5th lab with a few people dressed in military suits observing over him. He woke up in shock several times over the night.

Edward felt incredibly tired after being woke by another nightmare and found that it was early morning. He got slightly frustrated for being so weak and unable to recover as quickly as before. He kicked off the thin blanket and sat on the edge of the bed. He took a few deep breaths before getting up.

Edward's stomach groaned loudly in protest of the lack of food in the past few days. He smiled bitterly and prepared himself before going for breakfast downstairs.

As he was changing clothes from the short-sleeve shirt and shorts he wore, someone knocked on the door.

"Who's there?" Edward asked, expecting the voice of the shopkeeper.

No response.

Edward frowned as he sensed something was wrong. It was too quiet. There was not a single sound from the outside of the room. Quickly, he grabbed the thin blanket and loosely wrapped it around his body, hiding his automail arms and legs.

"Who's there!" Edward shouted as he scanned the room for a route to escape. 'The door is definitely not an option as whoever is out there would stop me from escaping. So the only way out is the window... but I am on the third floor of the inn...'

Suddenly, with a loud bang, the door fell to the floor in dozen of pieces. A strong arm appeared among the dust and debris created by the hit.

"Armstrong... Mustang..." Edward murmured in surprise as he finally saw the figures standing in front of him. Other than the two, Hawkeye and several officers under Mustang's command stood by the door, blocking any possible way out from the door.

"Fullmetal!" Mustang shouted as he stepped forward, "How long do you plan to avoid us? I expected you to report to me right after the last incidence with the sins but you just disappeared! I want your explanation right _now_!"

"I have nothing to report to you!" Edward shouted back as he swung his left arm angrily, accidentally revealing the automail arm, "I don't want to be a state alchemist anymore! Let us alone!"

Mustang and the other looked in shock as they suddenly realised that Edward's remaining left arm and right foot were replaced by the shiny automail limbs.

"Edward Elric!" Mustang was the first to recover from the shock, "I demand you to explain what happened to your arm and leg! And where is Alphonse?"

"It is none of your damned business!" Edward shouted in panic. Letting the military or the sins to know about the human transmutation was the last thing he wanted. He swore to protect the secret and his brother from them at all costs. "Leave us alone or I will have no choice but to fight against you!" he said as he threw away the blanket and got into a fighting posture.

"Is it a threat?" Mustang smirked as he raised his gloved right hand, "Do you really think you stand a chance of winning over me?"

Nervous sweat trailed down Edward's face. He knew that he had little, if not none, chance to defeat the famous Flame Alchemist, let alone that Armstrong was there to back up Mustang. But he had no choice.

"I don't want to hurt any of you..." Edward said softly before clapping his hands and putting them on the floor. With flashes of strong blue light, a think wall emerged in the middle of the room, separating Edward and the others. Knowing that the wall would not be able to block the pursuers for long, Edward immediately jumped on the window sill and got ready to jump.

In a split second, a powerful explosion blasted through the thick wall. The strong current created by the explosion pushed Edward out of the window. Losing balance, Edward fell, un-prepared, to the ground from the three-storey room. He was able to land on his hands and feet and rolled a few feet in order to reduce the impact. However, sharp pain from his chest told him that the fall had cracked at least one or two of his ribs.

Enduring the pain, Edward started running from the inn. However, he was quickly losing the battle as stars starting dancing in front of his eyes. He found it very difficult to breathe as if a rock was pressing on his cheat. The combination of exhaustion, hunger, and pain took their toll on the battered body significantly weakened by costs of human transmutation and recent automail installation.

Edward heard shouts and yells from behind but he could not make sense out of the words. He did not even notice that his pace was slowing down and someone caught up with him and was right behind his heels. His legs finally failed to support him and he started to fall to the ground. He never hit the ground as someone caught him gently.

"Please... leave us alone..." was the last thing Edward spoke before darkness overcame his mind.

* * *

End of Chapter 2

Hope you enjoyed the chapter!

Please feel free to review and comment!


	3. Not Alone

**Until the End**

By Gozilla

* * *

A/N: Thanks a lot to those of you who read and reviewed the story!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything and I don't have anything. So don't sue me!

Please excuse my poor English. -

Reviews are most welcomed!

Enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 3: Not Alone

* * *

Three hours later-

Edward slow opened his eyes. He looked around to find himself lying on a soft bed in a similar room he stayed the night before. A cool damp cloth was placed over his forehead.

He tried to sit up but he was too weak to move the heavy automail limbs. A soft moan escaped from his mouth as a sharp pain shot through his chest.

"Ed, are you awake?" a female voice came from the door.

Edward turned to see Hawkeye walking into the room with a basin of water. She took away the cloth on Edward's forehead, rinsed it in the water, and put it back over his forehead.

"What... what happened?" Edward asked as his mind was slightly cleared by the coolness of the cloth. He could not remember anything after his fall from the three-storey room.

"You fainted." Hawkeye said in her usual calm voice, "Taisa did not expect you to be at the window so quickly when he blew up the wall. We caught up with you after you fell from the room and Taisa managed to catch you before you fell to the ground."

Edward did not say a word and turned to look outside of the window. 'What should I do now?' he thought sadly, 'I am in the hand of the military and I am too weak to escape. What if they find out what happened with Al? What if the sins manage to find Al before I do?'

His thought was interrupted as Hawkeye suddenly stood and saluted towards the door. Edward did not turn as he knew who were coming to the room.

"Edward Elric." came Armstrong's voice, which was filled with concerns, "Why are you running away from us? You know we are here to help."

No response.

"Edward." Armstrong persisted, "We did not mean to hurt you. We did not know you were on the window sill until it was too late. Taisa had already used the minimum power when he blew up the wall."

Edward kept his silence.

"You are wasting your time, Armstrong." Mustang said as he walked into the room, "This little pea head is not going to appreciate your efforts."

Everyone in the room expected Edward to explode at the mentioning of the word "little". But they were surprised to see no response from the young alchemist.

Mustang frowned deeply at the lack of reaction from Edward. "What is going on, Fullmetal?"

"As I said before," Edward said in a bitter and tired voice, "it is none of your business. Just leave us alone."

"Don't even think you can out-smart me, Fullmetal." Mustang said in an authoritative voice. "I know you have got the philosopher's stone and restored your brother."

Edward shot up from the bed in shock. He struggled to breathe as the cracked ribs protested painfully at the harsh movement. After a while, he managed to calm the breathing and asked, "How... how did you know?"

"Do not underestimate the military." Mustang said as he approached the bed, "Do you really believe that no one saw you took away the philosopher's stone from the sins over a year ago? I expected you to report to me soon after the incidence. But you did not."

Edward looked at his superior in surprise. He thought no one actually saw him getting the philosopher's stone.

Mustang continued, "I did not send people to look for you as I thought you would at least inform me of what happened. You have disappointed me."

Edward lowered his head and avoided Mustang's eyes.

"From your new automail arm and leg, I believe that you have performed another human transmutation and paid the costs of equivalent trade." Mustang said, "As you and Alphonse never leave each other, I suspected that there could only be two outcomes for you being alone: either you succeeded so that your brother can move around freely or you have failed and your brother has disappeared. But as you have completely ceased your search for the philosopher's stone, I concluded that you have successfully restored your brother."

Edward closed his eyes tightly in shame. Although he knew that Mustang was good at managing military issues, he never thought that the Taisa was such a detailed analyst. 'How can I be so stupid? I should have known that the military would know about this. How can I protect Al from these people now?" Edward thought in regret.

"Now, are you ready to confirm my analysis and tell me what is going on!" Mustang shouted.

"I am not telling you anything." Edward suddenly felt extremely exhausted. He felt as if all the things he had done to protect the secret of restoring his brother through human transmutation had failed completely.

Edward was determined not to give the military any more information on his brother. Even though he could not escape from the military, he would do everything to keep them away from his brother. As long as Alphonse do not disclose his true identity, the military would have a difficult, if not impossible, task in finding a person who they did not know what he looked like.

"I will give you one day to consider." Mustang turned to leave the room, with Armstrong following him, "Unless you want the sins to find your brother first."

Edward looked up in shock. But Mustang and Armstrong left the room without turning back. They closed the door, leaving Edward and Hawkeye in the room.

"Even though you won't believe it," Hawkeye sat down on a chair placed beside the bed, "Taisa is worried about you."

Edward looked at Hawkeye in disbelieve and speechless.

"We got intelligence a month ago about the sins being active again." Hawkeye took an apple and started peeling it, ignoring Edward's surprised look. "There were reports on the sightings of the sins in the eastern district near Rizenbul. Your sudden appearance in the Central station confirmed Taisa's suspicion that the sins are chasing after you and your brother."

"Once we got the information regarding your destination, Taisa rushed to gather all of us to come here." Hawkeye finished peeling the apple and passed it to Edward. Edward took it and thanked her with a nod. He stared at the apple blankly, his mind too confused.

"Taisa had ordered no follow up investigation on the incidence with the sins over a year ago." Hawkeye said as she cleaned the knife casually. "I was one of the few people who saw you leaving the scene with a red stone. Taisa saw that as well. But he told the military that you left under his order with some secret missions and made an order that no one will talk about this to anyone, not even within the military."

Edward was even more confused.

"Believe it or not," Hawkeye looked at the 16 years old teenager in front of her, "he is doing everything to protect you and Alphonse."

There was a minute of silence before Edward asked, "Why?"

"Exactly why, I don't know." Hawkeye said, "But I have a feeling that Taisa is treating you and Alphonse as his younger brothers. We are here to help you, Ed. I know that you are trying to protect Al. But there are times when you can't handle everything by yourself. We need you to trust us so that we can help you."

Edward looked up with tired eyes. Ever since the appearance of the sins in Rizenbul, Edward had pushed himself to the very limit, trying to outrun the sins and the military by himself. He knew he could not go any further without help but he could not risk his brother's life on anyone's hand. It was sheer will power which kept him going.

"Can I trust you and the others?" Edward asked weakly.

Hawkeye was slightly surprised to see, instead of the mature and strong face of the infamous Fullmetal Alchemist, the childish and helpless face of a 16 years old boy. She smiled warmly and said, "Yes, you can trust us."

Edward felt as if the whole world collapsed around him. He closed his eyes in exhaustion and slept, for the first time in days, peacefully.

* * *

End of Chapter 3

Hope you enjoyed the chapter!

Please feel free to review and comment!


	4. The Search

**Until the End**

By Gozilla

* * *

A/N: Thanks a lot to those of you who read and reviewed the story!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything and I don't have anything. So don't sue me!

Please excuse my poor English. -

Reviews are most welcomed!

Enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 4: The Search

* * *

The next day-

Mustang sat on the chair placed beside Edward's bed while the other stood behind him. They could not take their eyes off the young state alchemist sitting on the bed as he explained everything from the moment the brothers got the philosopher's stone to yesterday morning.

Their hearts were heavy as they found out how Edward restored his brother and how he got his new automail limbs. Edward was too busy thinking about his brother to notice the winces on the others' face when he briefly mentioned he "lost his remaining arm and leg during the transmutation".

Edward explained how he encountered Lust and Envy in Rizenbul, and how he managed to escape from them.

When he had finished, everyone was quiet in shock. Even Mustang was shocked as, though he had roughly figured out what happened, it was far more dramatic with the details. Armstrong was already drowning in his own tears as he hugged Edward tightly (almost suffocating the young state alchemist), appraising the deep bond between the brothers.

"So what are you planning to do, Fullmetal?" Mustang asked, after separating Edward from the death grip of Armstrong. "You know you can't defeat the sins on your own."

"I don't know." Edward whispered, "I can't just leave Al wondering somewhere out there without the knowledge that we are being chased by the sins. I have to find him before the sins do. I will then figure out with Al what we will do."

"Not a wise plan," Mustang said, "but it seems to be the only feasible one at the moment." He turned to face the others, "Armstrong, Hawkeye and I will go to find Alphonse Elric with Fullmetal. For the rest of you, return to Central and wait for my orders. If anyone asks, just say that we are on a classified mission and will report to duty soon."

The officers saluted to Mustang and Armstrong before moving out of the room. Once the others were left, Edward said to Mustang, "You don't have to do that, Mustang. It is a private matter between the sins and I. There is no need for any outsider to get involved."

Mustang turned to Edward and, suddenly, punched the young alchemist hard on the face. Edward fell on the bed at the impact, shocked.

"Stop the nonsense!" Mustang shouted angrily, "Why didn't you come for my aid when you brothers are in trouble?"

Edward looked at his superior in surprise. A small smile appeared on his swelling face as he finally realized what Hawkeye was talking about. He could feel the almost brotherly concern under Mustang's harsh words.

After a few moment of silence, Edward broke the silence. "So... I presume that you people will go to Paromo with me to find Al, right?"

A nod and a smile from Armstrong and Hawkeye confirmed the answer. Mustang, on the other hand, simply looked out of the window.

Edward smiled a little at the lack of reaction from the Taisa, "I guess it means we need to buy a few more train tickets to Paromo then."

* * *

Five days later-

The few people on the Paromo station platform could not stop but stared in amusement at the gigantic figure standing beside the train. There were three persons standing beside the giant man, all of them in thick, casual wear. The weather was chilling and thick grey cloud covered the sky, threatening to snow at any time.

"I told you that if you don't want to attract attention, you should not bring along such 'attraction' along." Edward said in annoyance, thumb-pointing the sparkling Armstrong standing behind him.

"I told him to return to Central." Mustang said in frustration, "He was the one insisted to come long."

"How can I leave you and your brother to face such dangerous situation alone?" Armstrong said as tears started pouring down his big face, and pink stars flashing around him, "What a beautiful bond between brothers! I am so touched by the sacrificial acts you two!"

"Enough." Edward and Mustang said in unison, sweat dropping.

"Taisa." Hawkeye said in her usual calm voice, "I suggest you to move on if you don't want to attract any more attention."

The three state alchemists looked around and noticed that almost everybody in the train station was watching them curiously.

Embarrassed, they quickly left the train station and went to the nearby market. The weather was cold and it was starting to snow. They knew they don't have much time and decided to separate to search for Alphonse.

Edward took out the photo taken in Rizenbul a fortnight ago. The photo was taken by Winry when the brothers were practicing and wrestled together childishly. Edward took it away from Winry's photo album by saying that it would be too embarrassing for anyone to see the photo. But in the depth of his heart, he was more than happy to see the cheerful smiling faces returned to them. So he kept the photo in his wallet and took it wherever he went.

Edward smiled bitterly as he had never imagined that, only a fortnight later, he would need to show the photo to, not only the military people, but many strangers on a desperate attempt to find his brother. Without second thought, Edward started asking people in the market whether they have seen Al.

It was not long before someone recognized Al's face. After searching for over four hours, Mustang called off the search as it started snowing and was getting dark. The four of them checked in to a small inn for the night.

They ordered dinner to be delivered to Armstrong's room in order to prevent strangers to overhear their conversation. They re-organized the information they gathered during the day.

"It seems that Alphonse has left the town area three days ago." Armstrong said as he put a big piece of steak into his mouth.

"The flower lady said that she overheard Alphonse saying that he would go to a small village located in the valley of the snowy mountains we saw from the train station. Not a good idea in such cold weather." Mustang added as he sipped the hot tea.

Edward sat quietly, staring at the food placed in front of him. Dark eye bags formed beneath his golden eyes.

"Ed, are you alright?" Hawkeye was the first one to notice the silence of the young state alchemist. But she did not receive any response. Mustang and Armstrong looked up in concern as Hawkeye touched Edward's shoulder and asked again, "Ed, are you alright?"

Edward was surprised by the touch. He looked around and saw the concerned look on Hawkeye's face. "I... I am fine. Don't worry." Edward gave her an assuring smile.

"You should eat something, Ed." Hawkeye said as she noticed the untouched food in front of the young state alchemist, "You haven't eaten anything properly since we left the Central. Are you sure you are alright?"

"I am fine." Edward smiled and said, "I am just tired. I want to go to bed. Enjoy your meal." He left and headed towards his room before the others could say anything. He went straight to his room and locked the door behind him. Without switching on the light, he sat on his bed and stared at the floor.

Edward felt the heaviness weighting over his chest increasing over the past few days. He lost all his appetite and he could not sleep without having nightmares of Al being in danger some way or the other. He was extremely worried over the safety of his brother, not only about the harsh weather, but also the sins who were hunting the brothers.

Edward sighed in exhaustion and looked up to the sky with tired eyes.

"Al, where are you?"

* * *

The next morning -

The weather got worse overnight. A heavy snow storm hit the town and the temperature had dropped dramatically. The heavy snowfall made it almost impossible to go outdoors.

"But Al is out there!" Edward shouted as he leaned over the table, "We have to find him as soon as possible! He could be in danger somewhere out in the mountains!"

"That's why we can't risk making more people in danger." Mustang said calmly, "The weather is too harsh for us to go out. Especially you, Fullmetal, look at you, you are too weak to go out in such heavy snow storm."

"I am not weak!" Edward said in annoyance, turning away to avoid eye contact with the others, "I... I am fine."

"You are not fine, Edward." Armstrong said in concern, "And you knew it."

"It is nothing compare to the safety of Al!" Edward shouted angrily.

"It won't help if you become the one who needs to be rescued." Mustang said coldly, staring straight into the young alchemist's eyes. "Decision is made. End of discussion. Go to your room and get some rest. We will see if we can resume our search tomorrow."

Edward quietly walked out of the room and closed the door behind him, his head lowered and shoulders slumped in defeat.

The three look at the closed door in silence.

"It is good that he is listening to you, Taisa." Armstrong said as he nodded appraisingly.

But Mustang and Hawkeye looked at the closed door, both sensing something amiss.

"It is not like him..." Mustang said hesitantly, frowning. Before he finished the sentence, Hawkeye rushed out of the room and charged into Edward's room.

There was no one in the room. The window was opened and swinging dangerously in the strong wind. Edward's coat was no where to be seen.

Hawkeye rushed back to Mustang's room, "Taisa! Edward is gone!"

"Dammit!" Mustang cursed as he took his coat from a nearby empty chair, "I should have known he is not giving up so easily! We have to get him back! Go, he shouldn't be far!"

Armstrong was about the leave as he sensed danger. He swung his fist in front of him, just in time to push away a spear-like object shot through the closed door, which was aimed to nail him through his chest.

"Show yourself!" Mustang turned, fingers pointing at the door in firing position. Hawkeye, on the other hand, knelt in another corner of the room with her gun aimed at the door.

Suddenly the door was being sliced into dozen of pieces and fell on the floor. A figure stood in front of the entrance, "Good reflection. But you won't get away next time." She said as she licked gently on her razor-sharp nails.

Mustang narrowed his eyes dangerously and flicked his fingers. A huge fireball shot straight at one of the sins, Lust.

An hour later, in the mountain -

The snow and wind hit mercilessly on the lone figure walking slowly along the track almost completely covered by snow.

Edward struggled to make every step over the knee-deep snow and against the strong wind and heavy snow-fall.

'Why the hell do you have to go to places like this, Al?' Edward thought, not really meant to blame his brother, just a way to release a bit of frustration accumulated in his mind.

Suddenly, Edward fell into a shadow pit hidden by the snow. Cursing under his nose, Edward struggled to get out of the pit. However, with only loose snow around him, he had great difficulty finding a spot to hold on for support.

Out of nowhere, Edward felt himself being lifted from the pit and thrown roughly to the nearby ground. He looked up and was surprised to see a familiar figure standing in front of him, "Tai... Taisa?"

"Do you think you can run away from me, Fullmetal?" Mustang looked at the young state alchemist with disgusted eyes. "Hurry and lead the way!"

Edward looked at Mustang for a while, sensing something not being right. But he could not tell what it was. A whirl of strong wind broke Edward's train of thoughts. He looked up at the darkening sky and knew that the weather might change to the worst at any moment. Putting aside his uncomfortable feeling about the sudden appearance of Taisa, he got up and headed towards the village which his brother might be staying.

Unaware by Edward, an evil smile appeared briefly on Mustang's face before it was replaced by the Taisa's usual stone-calm face.

* * *

Three hours later -

Edward dragged his exhausted body along the thick snow, heading towards the depth of the valley. An hour ago, Edward and Mustang reached the small village among the mountains.

To Edward's dismay, the villagers told him that his brother went to the depth of valley a day ago in order to repair a bridge linking the village to the other side of the mountain, which was damaged in the last snow storm a few months ago.

Ignoring the villagers' urge for him to wait for the storm to cease before he continued with his search for his brother, Edward headed straight into the depth of the valley, fearing that Al might be in danger in such harsh weather. Mustang followed him without saying a word.

After two hours of struggle in the thigh-deep snow, Edward felt his body was falling apart in exhaustion. The heavy automail limbs were like dead-weight on his weakened body. His vision was starting to blur when they finally arrive at the damaged bridge.

Edward inspected the bridge and confirmed that the foundation was being repaired with alchemy. The bridge itself was yet to be repaired.

But there was no trace of Al.

"Al!" Edward shouted with all his strength over the strong wind. "Al! Where are you? Al!" Mustang stood silently with cold eyes nearby.

"Al!" Edward shouted harder as his heart burnt with worries. "Al! Please answer me! Al! Where are you?"

"Niisan?" came a distanced voice.

"Al?" Edward shouted in excitement, "Al! Where are you?"

"I am here, nissan!" the voice became closer and shape of a figure gradually appeared behind the thick sheet of snow fall.

Edward rushed towards the figure and hugged his brother tightly. "Al! I am so glad I found you!"

Al was confused by the action of his brother. But he was more than happy to see his brother and returned the hug. "Niisan, why are you here? Winry and grandma said that you should take more rest as your body is still recovering from the automail surgery."

"We have to get out of here quickly, Al." Edward released his brother, "The sins are after us. No, they are after the philosopher's stone. They found me back in Rizenbul. You cannot let them find you. Come on, let's go."

Edward took Al's hand and was about the leave the place when a sword-like object cut through his left abdomen. He fell to the ground and threw up a mouthful of blood onto the white snow.

"Niisan!" Al shouted in horror as he saw his brother fell to the ground. He turned to look at the attacker and was shocked by what he saw. Mustang stood behind Edward, with his right arm transformed into a sword.

"Good work, Fullmetal-chibi." a non-Mustang voice came out from the man's mouth.

"Envy..." Edward spoke painfully, "How can I be so careless..."

* * *

End of Chapter 4

Hope you enjoyed the chapter!

Please feel free to review and comment!


	5. Life and Death

**Until the End**

By Gozilla

* * *

A/N: Thanks a lot to those of you who read and reviewed the story! This is the last chapter of the story. Hope you will enjoy it!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything and I don't have anything. So don't sue me!

Please excuse my poor English. -

Reviews are most welcomed!

Enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 5: Life and Death

* * *

"It seems that you made good use of the philosopher's stone and restored your armour brother, chibi." Envy changed back to his normal form and looked at Al intently, "But I am sure we will find someone to reverse the transmutation and get back the stone."

"And now, chibi." Envy said as he transformed his right arm into a sword, "Your job as my tour guide is over and you can die now."

"I won't let you harm niisan!" Al shouted as he stood shielding Edward. Knowing that Edward was seriously wounded, Al got himself ready to defend his brother.

"No, Al, run! You can't win over this monster!" Edward said weakly.

"I am not leaving you." Al said in determination.

"No, you must run and get help! I can't protect you anymore!" Edward said. A muffled moan escaped his mouth as waves of sharp pain assaulted him from the wound. "Please, run, Al."

"I am not leaving you, niisan." Al said without taking his eyes off from Envy, "You have been doing everything to protect me all these years. It is time for me to protect you."

Envy charged forward, his arm sword aiming to kill the elder brother. But he was blocked by a powerful kick from Al. Al continued to punch and kick at Envy, not letting the deadly sin to get near his brother.

"Not bad." Envy teased, "But not good enough." He said as he kicked Al at the stomach. Al fell to the ground, holding his stomach and shaking in pain.

"Maybe I should cut off an arm or leg of yours in order to save me some trouble." Envy walked towards Al with an evil smile, his arm sword ready to strike.

"Don't you even think about it!"

Envy jumped a few meters away, just in time to escape from his head being cut off by Edward's arm blade.

Edward stood in front of his brother, with the shield of his right automail arm transformed into a large sharp blade. His left hand held tightly to the wound on his abdomen. He panted heavily and his forehead was covered with sweat as the combination of the sharp pain from his abdomen and shoulder assaulted him mercilessly. Stars were dancing in front of his eyes due to the heavy blood loss and his weakened body.

But none of these would deter Edward's determination to protect his brother.

Envy looked in surprised before anger overwhelmed his mind. "You two are such nuisance! Stop pretending this brotherly-love shit! I have been observing human beings for hundreds of years! You are all selfish, pitiful and disgusting pest!"

Suddenly, Envy's face changed from anger to teasing, "How about if we make a deal, Fullmetal chibi? I will let you go safely and promised that none of us will ever go after you from now on. But you will leave your brother to us. Not a bad deal, right?"

Al looked at his brother, silently urging him to take the deal. Being the closest person to Edward, Al knew that his brother wanted nothing more than a peaceful life.

But Edward did not move. He looked at Envy with steel determination, "I will not let you touch my brother, Envy."

"Then I guess the deal is off." Envy said casually before charging at the brothers with lightning speed.

Edward could barely block the first strike of Envy's arm sword. Envy quickly transformed his left arm to a sword and stabbed toward Edward's heart. With great reflection trained over the years, Edward managed to avoid the deadly blow but received a long wound over his chest.

"NIISAN!" Al cried in horror as Edward fell to the ground and rolled away in pain. "You bastard!" Al shouted and attacked Envy.

"You are too precious to be killed." Envy teased as he counter-attacked, "But I would love to play with you for a while." He fought and drew numerous shallow wounds all over Al's body.

Envy was too focused on his "game" and did not notice until his heel hit on something soft.

It was Edward.

Edward was still lying on the ground. He clapped his hands and placed them on Envy legs. Bright blue alchemy light flashed around Envy's body and a shocked expression appeared on Envy's face.

Envy stood still as a status and asked, "What... what have you done to me..." he could not finish the sentence as his became completely still.

Al, whose body was covered with blood from the numerous wound on his body, ran to hold his brother, "Niisan... what happened?"

It took a few moments before Edward recomposed himself from pain and exhaustion. "I transmuted his cells." Edward said breathlessly, "I saw him transforming himself into various appearance and even weapons. I guess that his body cells must be kind of fluid-like in order to be able to change their shape and hardness at his will. All I did was to transmute the structure of his cells and changed the cell wall into solid form. He won't be able move unless someone can counter-transmute his cells with alchemy."

Violent chilly wind reminded the brothers that they were still in danger. Al looked up to the sky and knew that the worst of the snow storm was approaching.

Quickly, Al checked on the wound on his brother's chest and abdomen. The wounds were bleeding heavily. The snow around Edward was dyed red with his blood. "Niisan, I have to get you to the doctor in the town." Al said, deeply worried.

Edward shook his head slowly, "No, Al, you have to go by yourself. I... I don't think I can walk. Please... save yourself..." He felt extremely dizzied and exhausted with the massive blood loss and injuries. He felt as if his eyelids were as heavy as his automail limbs and, slowly, he closed his eyes.

"Niisan! Wake up!" Al shouted in terror, "You can't fall asleep here! Nissan!"

But there was no response.

Al knew that he must get his brother to the doctor as soon as possible. Quickly, he tore a few pieces of strips from his clothes and roughly dressed Edward's wounds. Carefully, Al carried the unconscious Edward on his back and left the valley.

* * *

Two hours later -

Al struggled in the thigh-deep snow and walked against the violent wind. Having a wounded person on his back made things worse. But he did not even think once about leaving his precious burden behind.

But after the two-hours journey, Al had pushed himself beyond his limit and his vision had begun to blur. Unable to go any further or find any shelter, he found a place under a large rock which provided minimum protect against the snow and wind. Gently, he put down his brother leaning against the rock. He panted heavily in exhaustion. He felt he would faint at any moment.

Al looked up to the sky. The weather had changed to the worst over the last hour and there was no sign of improvement.

'What should I do?' Al thought helplessly. 'I can't let niisan die here. But I don't have the strength to bring him out of the mountains. What should I do?"

Suddenly, Edward stirred slightly.

Al gently shook Edward's shoulder, "Niisan, niisan, please wake up."

"Al... I am sorry I can't protect you..." Edward remained unconscious, "Al... Envy, don't hurt my brother..." a painful frown appeared on his face, "No... Al... don't die... please... don't leave me..."

Al smiled bitterly as a drop of tear rolled down his pale cheek. He embraced Edward protectively against the strong chilly wind, "Niisan, don't worry, I won't leave you. I will be with you... I will be with you until the end." he said as he finally lost the battle and gave in to blackness.

* * *

Two days later -

Al slowly opened his eyes and used his hand to shield off the bright morning sunlight from the nearby window. He felt his head was about to split into halves and his whole body sore. He looked around and found himself in a cosy room with a small fireplace on the other side of the room.

Before Al could recover from his confusion, the door opened and someone came into the room.

"Alphonse?" came a female voice.

Al turned to the person and found that it was Hawkeye. "Hawkeye-san? How did I get here? How do you... recognise me?" he notices that there were stretch wounds over Hawkeye's face and hands.

"You look much alike as Edward." Hawkeye smiled as she put down a tray of food, "We found you and Edward in the mountains two days ago."

"In the mountains..." Al searched his mind, trying to remember what happened. Suddenly, everything happened in the mountain came back to his mind. He shot up and jumped off the bed in shock. Only to fall back to the bed as his limbs were too weak to support him.

"You need to rest in bed, Alphonse." Hawkeye said in concern, helping Al to lie down on the bed, "You are hurt and you suffered hypothermia in the storm."

"Niisan!" Al cried, "Where is niisan? Is he alright? Please, he was seriously hurt! Please help him!"

Hawkeye put an assuring hand on Al's shoulder, "Don't worry. Edward's condition has been stabilised. The doctors have taken care of the wounds. He is resting in the room next door."

"Please, take me to him." Al urged.

Hawkeye hesitated, as it would be best for the youth to stay in bed and rest. But, knowing the brothers for years and the deep bonds between them, she knew better than to decline the request.

"Alright."

"Thank you so much!"

* * *

Room next door -

The room was quiet. Al entered the room slowly with the support of Hawkeye. The first thing he noticed as Mustang, who was sitting with arms folded on a chair placed near the bed. Mustang was wearing a loose shirt, revealing bandages wrapped around his body.

Mustang looked up at Al with his usual cold eyes. He sighed slightly in defeat as if saying, 'I knew you would come first thing after you wake up.' and left the room.

Al immediately approached the one lying on bed.

Edward slept not too peacefully as he turned and tossed slightly in his sleep. His wounds were properly dressed and his face was not as pale as before.

"Hawkeye-san, could you please tell me what happened?" Al turned to Hawkeye and asked.

"We were attacked by one of the sins, Lust." Hawkeye said, "We fought and Taisa managed to kill Lust after burning her for about a hundredth time. We were hurt but Taisa knew that you brothers were in greater danger. So we went into the mountains and looked for you."

"We found you under a large rock, both unconscious." Hawkeye continued, "We feared for the worst. But, somehow, you brothers are really strong and survived. Armstrong has left to arrange transportation to take you two to the military hospital in Central. You two, especially your brother, need further medical attention."

"Thank you." Al nodded in appreciation, "I thought we were going to die. Thank you so much for saving us."

Al turned to look at the battered face of his brother. A painful frown appeared on Edward's face and he murmured, "Al..."

"Edward has been restless since we found him." Hawkeye frowned in worry, "The doctors have given him pain-killers to reduce the physical pain. But none of us could ease the pain in his mind."

"I am here, niisan." Knowing that Edward could not feel with his automail limbs, Al gently put his hand over Edward's heart, "I am here. We are in safe hands now. Don't worry. Please rest. I will be with you."

As if he heard or felt the presence of his brother, Edward's frown relaxed and fell into a peaceful sleep again.

Feeling extremely exhausted and sleepy, Al climbed into the bed and slept beside his brother, just like they always did when they were small.

Hawkeye smiled warmly and retrieved from the room quietly.

* * *

The End

Hope you enjoyed the story!

Please feel free to review and comment!

I am thinking if I should write a sequel to the story. Let's see if I can come up with some ideas about how things would go on from here.

Meanwhile, I am working on a short story about Edward in Munich. I will post it as soon as it is completed. Stay tuned.


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